The New Orleans Saints did just that -- at the expense of the rookies -- by holding an annual post-Halloween costume contest Wednesday morning before practice.

And it proved a major hit with all the players, especially the veterans.

"I was pretty blown away," guard Senio Kelemete said with a laugh. "This is a good class. I mean, I have to say this was one of the best ones we've had so far.

"There were some pretty interesting ones out there, clever ones, but overall it was really good. I'm just glad the rookies bought in."

Fullback John Kuhn agreed.

"Nobody took the easy way out," Kuhn said. "Everybody played their part and was creative as they could be, and found some really good ideas."

The rookies certainly went the extra mile.

For examples, wide receiver Dan Arnold dressed as the Joker; defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad donned The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man costume from the movie "Ghostbusters"; defensive end Trey Hendrickson dressed as a gladiator; running back Trey Edmunds came dressed as one of the characters from the animated show "Bravest Warriors"; wide receiver Austin Carr dressed as a toaster pastry; wide receiver Travin Dural was a whoopee cushion; and running back Alvin Kamara became a "friendly neighborhood hood rat" for one of the more creative costumes.

Hendrickson said he looked around at all the costumes and knew his chances of winning were gone.

"Oh, yeah. I lost," Hendrickson said with a chuckle. "I 100 percent lost."

Edmunds admits he struggled with a costume idea and didn't settle on one until Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.

But with the pressure mounting, he knew he had to come through with a costume.

"It was rookie duty, that's what it was," Edmunds said with a hearty laugh.

Carr's choice was in tribute to second-year cornerback De'Vante Harris, whose favorite childhood costume was revealed on the Mercedes-Benz Superdome jumbotron during Week 8's game against the Chicago Bears.

The moment inspired the rookie wide receiver to pick up a box, and then go to an arts and crafts store with his wife to purchase glitter, glue and pillow cases with the goal to become a young Harris.

"I figured why not be young 10-year-old De'Vante as a joke and it went over well," Carr said with a grin. "He was just cracking up and laughing. He thought it was great."

While the players enjoyed the costume contest and there were numerous creative ideas, there could only be one winner.

And Kelemete said everyone in the team meeting knew immediately who would win once Kamara explained his costume.

"Alvin, that was by far the funniest because he knew the crowd he was in front of," Kelemete said. "We asked, 'Who are you?' He said, 'I'm a hood rat from Kenner and Metairie.' And everyone was like instantly, 'Yeah, that's the winner.'"

To the victor belong the spoils, and Wednesday morning helped lighten the mood as the Saints shift focus on preparations to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9.